A Fish Called Wanda (1988) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A Fish Called Wanda ( 1988 ) R | In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to doublecross each other for the loot. Directors: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 38 titles created 06 Sep 2014 a list of 21 titles created 27 Sep 2014 a list of 34 titles created 08 Dec 2014 a list of 36 titles created 18 Jun 2015 a list of 38 titles created 7 months ago Title: A Fish Called Wanda (1988) 7.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 1 Oscar.

Another 8 wins & 15 nominations. See more awards » Photos Zookeepers struggle to deal with the policies of changing directors. Directors: Fred Schepisi, Robert Young Stars: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline Six unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity. Director: Peter Cattaneo The comedy team takes a look at life in all its stages in their own uniquely silly way. Directors: Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam Stars: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle Incompetent police detective Frank Drebin must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II . Director: David Zucker Brian is born on the original Christmas, in the stable next door. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah. Director: Terry Jones Edit Storyline In London, George Thomason, his seductive American girlfriend Wanda Gershwitz, and their associate Ken Pile are planning their latest crime, a diamond heist that should net them £13 million. They plan on leaving the country with the goods after the heist.

On Wanda's recommendation, they enlist the help of her brother, Otto, a weapons expert, for this heist. In reality, Otto is not Wanda's brother, but her latest lover, a dimwit who gets off on his own body odor, who believes he's an intellectual because he reads Nietzsche, and who does not tolerate being called stupid by anyone. Wanda has one weakness in men which is how Otto was able to get her to be his lover: speaking Italian in seduction. Wanda and Otto plan to double cross George by having him arrested for the heist, while they abscond with the jewels. Wanda further plans to triple cross Otto by eliminating him from the picture after she has the jewels. They are able to get George arrested with him not knowing who tipped the ... Written by Huggo A New Comedy About Sex, Murder and Seafood. See more » Genres: 5 August 1988 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Ein Fisch namens Wanda See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Archie speaks in Italian: "Ma ho sposato una donna che preferisce lavorare in giardino a fare l'amore appassionato.

Uno sbaglio grande!", what translates as: "But I married a woman who prefers working in the garden to making passionate love. A big mistake!". It can actually refer to Archie's marriage. See more » Goofs The second getaway car is an Austin Metro City X 5 door model, it has two wing mirrors. However, the car they get out of in the lock-up is a Metro City as it has only one wing mirror and no 'X' decal on the rear wing. See more » Quotes Otto : Don't call me stupid. Wendy : Why on earth not? Otto : Oh, you English are *so* superior, aren't you? Well, would you like to know what you'd be without us, the good ol' U.S. of A. to protect you? I'll tell you. The smallest fucking province in the Russian Empire, that's what! So don't call me stupid, lady. Just thank me. Wendy : Well, *thank* you for popping in and protecting us.

Otto : If it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking *German!* Singing "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles..." See more » Crazy Credits At the very end of the closing credits is the word FIN -- which is how French films say THE END, but in English a "fin" is a part of a fish. See more » Connections (Beverley Hills, England) – See all my reviews To make a comedy that can be lauded with the comment 'absolutely hilarious' isn't an easy thing to do. It's not so difficult, however, when you are one of the funniest men on god's green earth; and the extremely talented John Cleese has certainly managed to write a fine piece of comedy here. Teaming up with Monty Python buddy Michael Palin and Ealing studios director Charles Crichton, these talented comedians have managed to create a film that is most certainly one of the funniest; laugh per minute and lasting hilarity when it's over, movies ever made.

The plot is taken straight from the classic Ealing comedy era (no wonder it works so well) and it follows four crooks that have stolen a bunch of jewels and now decide to double cross one another to take the loot solely for themselves. The plot thickens when the female of the bunch decides that the best way to get the loot would be to get close to a grassed-up co-conspirator's barrister; John Cleese. Aside from an inch-perfect screenplay, A Fish Called Wanda also benefits from a fine cast of actors to deliver it. John Cleese steals every scene he's in, as you might expect, and he more than justifies his reputation as one of, maybe even the, finest British comedy actor ever. He is joined by a talented pair of Americans; Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis, along with, as mentioned, his fellow Python Michael Palin. Kline is certainly one of the most underrated actors working today, and his comic timing in this movie is right on the money. Makes you wonder how much better he could have been used over the years. "Scream Queen" Jamie Lee Curtis also does well in the title role; and Michael Palin obviously knows his way round a comedy script.

The jokes in the film come thick and fast, and I can't think of a single one that didn't work. It's the big gags that are the real stand out of the movie, though, and one in particular that sees Kevin Kline trying to explain to Cleese's wife what he's doing in their home is absolutely priceless. I nearly fell of my chair laughing. This film is a must see. 41 of 55 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Film - A Fish Called Wanda - Into Film A Fish Called Wanda A Fish Called Wanda © MGM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Year Home | Films | Explore Films | A Fish Called Wanda (1988) Barrister Archibald Leach is quintessentially British - a repressed, straight-laced chap who is shaken out of his complacency when he becomes embroiled in the ever more farcical shenanigans of a motley group of criminals, including a beautiful con-woman. Veteran director Charles Crichton employs his experience to great comic effect, while Kevin Kline deservedly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the demented weapons man Otto.

Clubs provide opportunities to watch, review and make films. Start a film club today Director/s Kevin Kline Wins Supporting Actor: 1989 Oscars - YouTube Kevin Kline Wins Supporting Actor: 1989 Oscars Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Nov 24, 2010 Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Roger Moore present Kevin Kline with the Oscar for Supporting Actor for A Fish Called Wanda at the 61st Academy Awards. See more 1989 Oscar highlights: Become an Oscar Insider: Check out our Academy Originals: ABOUT THE ACADEMY The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world's preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema.

In addition to the annual Academy Awards—in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners¬—the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies. Category My favorite Oscar win: Kevin Kline for ‘A Fish Called Wanda’ My favorite Oscar win: Kevin Kline for ‘A Fish Called Wanda’ EMAIL MGM In the final heated build-up to Oscar night, the tendency is to look at all of the ways the Academy has failed us or is bound to fail us. We do last-minute championing of underdog films and performances or perform a final public, or private, snub lament (not to worry, some of that is forthcoming). I thought it might be nice, however, to take a look back at some of the moments where the fates have aligned to provide a win we can really appreciate.

I spent some time yesterday afternoon looking over the Academy Award winners of the past 20-odd years, and there were some notable pleasures in the mix. Whether they were upsets or favored, whether I recall watching the moment live or have since come to appreciate the significance, they inspire that rare sense of visceral gratification. Glancing down the list I assembled I’m reminded of films and performances that I’m happy to see preserved by at least the small measure of posterity that an Academy Award win in their category affords them. Whether it was the world’s discovery of Geoffrey Rush in “Shine,” Chris Cooper”s “Adaptation” win and acceptance speech, the brilliantly satiric and effective “No Man”s Land,” the acknowledgment of cinematographer Guillermo Navarro”s work on “Pans Labyrinth” or my own strange affection for Anjelica Huston”s win for her portrayal of “yeah, right here, on the oriental with all the lights on” Maerose Prizzi in “Prizzi’s Honor,” there are a wealth of solidly satisfying Oscar wins in my book.

As much as I appreciate all of the other honorees, however, I must say, the Oscar win that was at the forefront of my mind at the beginning of my investigation remained at the top of my list at the close. There are few Academy Awards moments that evoke as deep and cathartic a sense of pleasure as Kevin Kline”s Best Supporting Actor victory for his portrayal of the hapless, but most certainly not stupid, criminal simple-mind Ottto in “A Fish Called Wanda.” Kris, you’ll note, also mentioned it in Friday’s podcast when prompted by a questioner for his favorite Oscar win. Firstly, Kline was the strongest in his field that year. He was fresh, spontaneous, and yet so finely tuned. Secondly, his win represents one of the rare occasions in which the Academy voters have demonstrated a real respect for legitimate comedy rather than splitting the difference with a drama peppered with comedic tones. On a more ephemeral level, Kline is an actor who inspires goodwill with his mere presence. He is someone we want to see win and it is especially gratifying that he did so on merit, in a surprising role.

Aside from Kline”s performance, which holds up beautifully, the film remains one of the best comedies of the last several decades . It sometimes happens that we do not care for a particular actor but can concede that his or her performance is the strongest in a given year, or we like the portrayal but not the film as a whole, or we love the film and think the depiction is fine, but do not find it outstanding or particularly memorable. It is rare and significant when all of the elements are in place. Kevin Kline”s win stands out as the one that, 24 years after the moment occurred, is guaranteed to bring a smile to my face. For a reminder of the events that make Oscar worthwhile, re-familiarize yourself with the Otto: Meanwhile, how ironic that just as this piece goes up this afternoon, the Academy has just announced a new comedy bit between Kline and Mike Myers called “Oscar Etiquette,” which you can view at Oscars.com or via the embed below. For year-round entertainment news and commentary follow @JRothC on Twitter. Sign up for Instant Alerts from In Contention!

Share This By: someperson 02.21.2012 @ 9:24 PM Even with the tragic death of Heath Ledger and the entire narrative surrounding it, I’m still in awe that someone one an Oscar for playing The Joker. And yeah, Kevin Kline is an absolute joy in that film. Very deserved. By: someperson By: KristopherTapley 02.21.2012 @ 9:29 PM No doubt. Two of my favorite winners were Kline and Ledger, and I love that it was Kline who “presented” Ledger as a nominee at that ceremony. By: someperson I didn’t even remember that. That’s really cool. By: Roth Cornet 02.22.2012 @ 8:21 PM Agreed. That win brings so much sadness with it as well. What a loss in the grander scheme. By: KBJr. 02.21.2012 @ 9:32 PM I think my favorite win, because of sheer surprise that she actually won and awe of her masterful performance, was Marion Cotillard for “La Vie En Rose”.

The film was bleak for sure, but she was just an awesome force, and I remember cheering when her name was called. By: KristopherTapley 02.21.2012 @ 11:39 PM This is definitely one very high up there for me too. Actually, it’s the only win that I ever felt a little emotional about. I was just that happy for Cotillard. By: JJ1 02.22.2012 @ 2:12 AM I must agree. I remember being astounded by her performance in La Vie En Rose. But, the film came out early in the year. It was foreign. She was relatively unknown (outside of France). She was beautiful. Charming. She was working the circuit. Won BAFTA. But I still thought Julie Christie was the favorite (and I thought she gave a lovely performance in Away From Her). So I was stunned and ecstatic when Cotillard’s name was called. Her reaction was what I watch the Oscars for. By: HoustonRufus 02.22.2012 @ 4:25 PM That year was very cool.

I remember it fondly for all four acting winners being European, a coincidence that I loved and celebrated. By: DylanS 02.21.2012 @ 9:41 PM Glad you chose to single out Chris Cooper, his win is most certainly one of my favorites in recent years. Here are some acting winners of recent years that I love. Adrien Brody- Truly was the best of those 5 performances. Such a deserved win for a wonderful actor giving a wonderful performance in a wonderful film. Tim Robbins- A lot of people really dislike his performance in “Mystic River”, but I think Robbins gives career best work as an actor there and was the best thing about that uneven film. Sean Penn for “Milk”- The best performance of his career by far, and while many wanted Mickey Rourke to win, his performance, great as it is, doesn’t hold a candle to Penn’s work. Christian Bale- A performance that knocks you over from the very outset, and manages to maintain that effect through the entire course of the film. Natalie Portman- The only actress win of recent years that I can genuinely say I was rooting for.

And actress who had only occasionally hinted at her full capabilities bringing it all to the next level in every sense of the word. By: Brock Landers I thought DDL was better than Brody, but both were phenomenal performances. By: DylanS 02.21.2012 @ 11:00 PM Daniel Day Lewis is presenting a lot of his talent with that performance, but it lacks both the subtlety and the emotional depth of Brody’s performance. but to each his own. By: Bryce H 02.22.2012 @ 2:29 AM Not exactly a fair complaint, since subtlety doesn’t and shouldn’t have anything to do with Bill the Butcher. By: DylanS 02.22.2012 @ 4:09 AM I don’t think it has a lot to do with later Day-Lewis performances on the whole. Point is, Brody really sliped into his character rather effortlessly and without fuss and I was emotionally moved by his performance, Day-Lewis, on the other hand, frequently slipped into camp in that role and it all felt like an actory exercise to me.

By: Roth Cornet 02.22.2012 @ 8:23 PM I spent the other day deluging twitter with wins I love and appreciate. There really are some great ones. By: /3rt (1996) Juliette Binoche — Actress in a Supporting Role (1990) Kathy Bates — Actress in a Leading Role (1992) Emma Thompson — Actress in a Leading Role (2007) Tilda Swinton — Actress in a Supporting Role (2007) Marion Cotillard — Actress in a Leading Role By: Roth Cornet 02.22.2012 @ 8:24 PM I love that Kathy Bates win. I’d have loved to see Tilda Swinton this year as well, actually. By: Brock Landers 02.21.2012 @ 10:42 PM Joe Pesci for GoodFellas. He also gave one of the best speeches ever… he simply said, “Thank you.” By: Roth Cornet That is a great win and speech.

By: The Dude 02.21.2012 @ 11:32 PM Roman Polanski for The Pianist- At that point I thought freakin’ Rob Marshall (a completely forgotten filmmaker now less than 10 years after a film of his won the Oscar for BP) was taking it, and Polanski was genuinely the best of the nominees. Also, the highlight of last year to me was The Social Network winning best score- I thought for sure it was too unconventional to win. By: Roth Cornet 02.22.2012 @ 8:25 PM I thought the score would win, I also really thought it deserved it and was happy that it did. By: krest roman polanski is a dirty kiddy fiddling paedo By: SJG 02.21.2012 @ 11:32 PM How funny… Kevin Kline’s win is definitely one of my very favorites of all time too. And I’ve felt that way for a long time, not just because I’m jumping on the bandwagon.

I feel like there’s got to be another I care for more, and certainly I can think of nominations where if the person had won it would rank higher for me than Kline’s win, but he definitely is the first to spring to mind. I’ll have to ponder this a bit longer though… By: Roth Cornet 02.22.2012 @ 8:26 PM I spent some time thinking along those lines as well, but at the end of the day — that’s just my favorite :)! By: SJG 02.22.2012 @ 8:34 PM Martin Landau, Ed Wood. That’s one that means almost as much to me as Kline’s. Also, Mercedes Ruehl, The Fisher King. Those three are pretty much tied as my favorites, at least as far as acting goes. By: msd 02.22.2012 @ 12:03 AM I was very young at the time but I still remember being excited when DDL won the first time for My Left Foot. He was a little known actor in a low budget Irish movie going up against Hollywood’s golden boy Tom Cruise.

By: Tedatbent 1992-Mercedes Ruehl for The Fisher King made me quite happy. By: JLPatt 02.22.2012 @ 4:46 AM Yes! Was going to say the same thing. A very underrated, somewhat forgotten winner nowadays, but one of the best Supporting Actress winners of the decade in my estimation. By: /3rt 02.22.2012 @ 11:07 AM People remember it as the Oscar Juliette Lewis lost. Lewis wasn’t the frontrunner this year but Oscar loves to surprise in Supporting (Tomei/Binoche). By: San FranCinema Tilda in 2007 for “Michael Clayton.” A true surprise. And a worthy win. By: Roth Cornet 02.22.2012 @ 8:27 PM She is just phenomenal. I wish We Need To Talk About Kevin would have gotten some more attention in general this year.

By: The Great Dane 02.22.2012 @ 1:54 AM Even though Judy Davis should probably have taken it (like so many of Woody Allen’s supporting ladies), I’m just as in awe of Marisa Tomei’s win as Kevin Kline’s. Tomei’s win (even her nomination) seemed so unbelievable – so unbelievable in fact that we’ve all heard the urban legends about reading the wrong name by now. But again, the scene where she tries to tell Joe Pesci not to go hunting is one of my favorite comedy scenes of all time. “Imagine your a deer…” By: Roth Cornet That is a really fun win as well. Included in my twitter deluge. By: Chris138 02.22.2012 @ 2:05 AM I’ll throw my weight behind Heath Ledger’s win for The Dark Knight, despite that everyone knew it would happen. I was also glad to finally see Christian Bale get an Oscar, I felt he was long overdue after having given so many terrific performances over the years.

I expected Mickey Rourke to win for The Wrestler in 2008 but I was very glad to see ultimately take home the gold, since Milk was my favorite movie of that year. By: Chris138 very glad to see Sean Penn ultimately take home the gold* By: Kieran S 02.22.2012 @ 2:24 AM Totally going to echo Sam Francinema re: Tilda. Such a layered, complex, unfussy, truly supporting turn (read: the type of performance that usually goes home emptyhanded in the supporting category). I’m going to veer for a bit and say that my favorite win in recent years (last ten) would be Charlize Theron for “Monster,” which seems weird given how baity the performance seems on paper and how it was a foregone conclusion well before the ceremony. Hear me out. Makeup work aside, I think it’s a towering performance and the movie is actually every bit her equal. It’s handily the best “Best Actress” performance of the aughts for me and one that I think benefited from a weaker field (in terms of getting the win).

It seems strange to say so, but I think there are many years (Swank vs. Bening pt. 2 or Streep vs. Winslet vs. Hathaway) where Theron would have lost and may have even faced an uphill battle to nomination, merits aside. By: JJ1 02.22.2012 @ 3:06 AM I always thought Penn gave the superior performance. I thought he was exceptional. And while I enjoyed The Wrestler and was ecstatic for Rourke’s comeback … I didn’t think he matched the quality of Penn’s portrayal. By: JJ1 And yes, ditto that Kieran S By: Chris138 JJ1, I agree with you about Penn giving the superior performance that year. By: Roth Cornet 02.22.2012 @ 8:29 PM Performance aside, The Wrestler was actually one of my favorite movies that year. I actually wish it had gotten a nod. Alas…I do love Penn, though. By: SJG Richard Jenkins deserved the Oscar for The Visitor over Penn and Rourke, anyday.

By: Matthew Starr 02.22.2012 @ 4:09 AM I like the Gladiator win a lot. I’m probably one of the few that like that movie more than Traffic and Crouching Tiger. By: suziethefluzie I think that’s the best reply to any of my comments, ever. By: The Dude 02.22.2012 @ 7:20 PM Same here. Gladiator was a great Roman epic, not very deep, but still better than both the other nominees and the other Roman epic to win the Oscars- a much better actor leading, a much better supporting cast and a much better director, plus none of the Jesus non-sense. Traffic is a film that hasn’t aged well, while Crouching Tiger, even back then, while beautiful to look at, always felt much more shallow than it pretended to be, with philosophy that could have come out of a Chinese cookie. There were better films that year (In The Mood For Love, Werckmeister Harmonies, You Can Count On Me, just to name a few), but Gladiator was a worthy winner.

By: ace winbo inception for best score, wait…oops By: Roth Cornet Kevin Kline in 1988’s A Fish Called Wanda couldn’t be ignored / The Dissolve by Mike D'Angelo Truly great acting is seldom recognized in its own time—at least officially, with trophies and such. Performance Review takes a retrospective, highly opinionated look at past award-winners. Each entry focuses on a specific category in a given year, in several different awards ceremonies, in an effort to determine the year’s most criminally overlooked performance. Best Supporting Actor, 1988 • Academy Award: Kevin Kline, A Fish Called Wanda It’s been a quarter-century now, and I still can’t quite believe this happened. Kevin Kline’s deranged performance as the armpit-sniffing, Italian-spouting, pseudo-intellectual Otto in A Fish Called Wanda seemed far too uniquely brilliant for Oscar recognition; it was a shock when he was nominated, and I vividly remember the whoop of joy I let out when he actually, improbably won.

What made it even more remarkable at the time was that Kline was known almost exclusively as a dramatic actor, in films like Sophie’s Choice, The Big Chill, and Cry Freedom—only people who’d seen him onstage or in The Pirates Of Penzance could have anticipated such a broadly comic turn. Even so, Otto is just such a sui generis creation: an absurdist embodiment of American idiocy as seen through English eyes, vulgar yet weirdly graceful, prone to venting his frustration (“I’m disaPPOINTED!!!”) with leaps and kicks that would look at home in a big Broadway dance number. He’s a meathead’s ballet dancer. And while the character is meant to be dimwitted, and frequently is, Kline’s natural intelligence bleeds through in ways that somehow enhance rather than spoil the joke. This performance is as close to a live-action Daffy Duck as we’ve ever seen: It’s fitting that Otto meets his end by getting steamrolled flat as if he were a cartoon character, and doubly fitting that he survives for one final gag. Even the hidebound Academy members were unable to deny such flagrant genius.

• New York Film Critics Circle: Dean Stockwell, Married To The Mob and Tucker: The Man And His Dream First of all, ignore the citation for Tucker, in which Dean Stockwell makes a brief, unmemorable cameo as Howard Hughes. He’s gorgeously lit, and accompanied by an eerie soundtrack cue, but the role doesn’t give him anything much to do apart from wear a mustache and politely decline to shake people’s hands. This award (and the one below) were for Married To The Mob—and it could credibly be argued that they also constituted belated recognition for Stockwell’s career-reviving performance in Blue Velvet two years earlier. As mob boss Tony “The Tiger” Russo, who’s pursuing the widow of a man he killed (Michelle Pfeiffer), Stockwell does a solidly goofy wise-guy routine, working an Italian accent and radiating casual menace… though he’s often more of a straight man for Pfeiffer and especially Mercedes Ruehl, playing his jealous wife. As an exercise, I tried watching several of his scenes and mentally replacing Stockwell with Tony Soprano (the fact that they’re both named Tony made it easier), imagining how James Gandolfini would have delivered the same lines.

The substitution worked surprisingly well, and diminished Stockwell’s performance a little in my eyes. He’s having a good time, but he remains very much on the character’s surface; it’s unclear to me why he was singled out rather than, say, Matthew Modine. Which is why I really feel like Stockwell’s unforgettable lip-sync rendition of Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” played a major role in these hosannahs. His role in Blue Velvet was too tiny to merit awards, but that was what got people’s attention; combine that with his dues-paying career as a child actor (dating back to 1945), and he probably seemed very much due. • Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Alec Guinness, Little Dorrit Until Sátántangó came along a decade or so later, Little Dorrit was the longest movie I’d ever seen: a six-hour adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel, shown in theaters as two separate three-hour films. Guinness plays William Dorrit, the family patriarch, who spends much of the movie in debtor’s prison, like Dickens’ own father. In general, Guinness + Dickens seems like a slam dunk, and the actor sinks cozily into Mr.

Dorrit’s dignified destitution; he also gets a superlative deathbed scene, which he milks to the fullest without seeming emotionally grabby, as so many others might in that circumstance. Plus, six hours gives an actor a lot of time to build a character, even in a supporting role. Many of the film’s scenes play out at a leisurely pace that would be impossible in a two-hour movie, allowing Christine Edzard, who adapted and directed the film, to include as much of Dickens’ dialogue as possible. Today, this would assuredly be a TV miniseries—I’m not such how it escaped that fate even at the time—and Guinness (if he hadn’t died 13 years ago) would be cleaning up at the Emmys. But it’s the kind of technically impeccable, gorgeously assured performance that works like gangbusters in any medium, and while I prefer Kline’s riskier gambit, there’s a sense in which comparing the two (Guinness was likewise Oscar-nominated) is fundamentally absurd. Though I submit that Kline could have played William Dorrit, whereas Guinness… Actually, thinking back on the young Guinness in some of the old Ealing comedies, scratch that thought.

They’re both terrific. • National Society of Film Critics: Dean Stockwell, Married To The Mob and Tucker: The Man And His Dream It was definitely Stockwell’s year as far as the critics were concerned. The other two Oscar nominees that year were Martin Landau, also for Tucker (in a much bigger role), and River Phoenix for Running On Empty. It’s a strange juxtaposition, in a way—at the time, it seemed likely to be Landau’s final shot at award recognition, whereas anyone would naturally assume it was the first of many nominations for Phoenix, who was shaping up to be the actor of his generation. Within six years, Landau had won the Oscar for Ed Wood, and Phoenix was gone. Landau isn’t as sensational in Tucker as he is playing Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood, but he makes a fine voice of reason opposite Jeff Bridges’ cheerful profligacy in the title role. And Phoenix is just heartbreaking.

Running On Empty is about a family constantly on the run, because the parents (Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) committed an act of terrorism years earlier; Phoenix plays their only child, who wants nothing more than to live an ordinary life that doesn’t require uprooting himself and taking on a new identity every year or so. River had the same emotional transparency that his brother Joaquin Phoenix does, but minus the tic-ridden strangeness (though who knows what might have happened over time). As in My Own Private Idaho, which River made a few years later, he has times in Running On Empty when he seems transparent, because his defenses are so shallow. He appeared in only 13 films before he died (not counting the unfinished-until-recently Dark Blood), and his loss remains incalculable. Watching him play a character whose promise is in danger of being snuffed out by cruel circumstance can be rough going for those who still miss him. • Performance Review’s Most Overlooked: Tim Robbins, Bull Durham I had to triple-check to make sure nobody gave Robbins anything for playing Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh—his breakout role. Nada. Zippo. Insane.

What a fantastic year this was for indelible comic performances, no? (I could just as easily cite Trey Wilson for this same film.) In fact, he and Kline represent diametrically opposed approaches to playing an idiotic character, demonstrating that both of them can be hilarious and unforgettable. Robbins opts to show the gears slowly grinding; people often say admiringly of actors that it’s possible to see them thinking, but it’s arguably harder to depict a character who’s trying to think and failing miserably. At the same time, Nuke’s goofball enthusiasm is ridiculously endearing, and his chemistry with Susan Sarandon is so strong, it’s no surprise they wound up together for more than 20 years (even though Kevin Costner gets her in the movie). The nature of the role dictates that Robbins doesn’t get many good lines, so the performance resides almost entirely in his rubbery face and jangling limbs; he was also young and hungry enough to be willing to play the butt of most of the jokes, even standing on the mound in a dream sequence wearing only a garter belt.

Robbins eventually won an Oscar for his ham-handed portrait of a damaged soul in Mystic River, while being ignored for his sublime buffoonery; that’s emblematic of how actors get honored for the wrong performance. There’s no doubt in my mind about which one people will still be talking about in another 25 years. A Fish Called Wanda (Film) - TV Tropes A Fish Called Wanda You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share Film / A Fish Called Wanda × Fish on poster may be deceptively sexy. You have been warned. Otto: You know your problem? You don't like winners. Archie: Winners? Otto: Winners. Archie: Winners like... North Vietnam? A Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 British comedy film starring Kevin Kline , Jamie Lee Curtis , John Cleese and Michael Palin . The film is the final (and best known) film of legendary British comedy director Charles Crichton, and its screenplay was written both him and Cleese. The film features a gang of criminals who double-cross each other and involves the comedic use of a steamroller.

Nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, the film is literally lethally funny (see below). Kline, who plays the eccentric thief Otto in the film, won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, a rare accomplishment for a comedic performance. There are actually two characters called Wanda in the film. One is a fish. The other is Jamie Lee Curtis. Later followed by a not-sequel with the same cast, Fierce Creatures . This film contains examples of: Affably Evil : Wanda is so charming that it is easy to miss just how ruthless she really is, at least prior to genuinely falling for Archie. Ken also counts; a timid animal lover who has no qualms about trying to bump off a little old lady. Asshole Victim : The dog lady is set up to be a mean-spirited old woman who cares far more about her dogs than other people. That said, Ken cares more about her dogs than her, too. Otto, for a given value of "victim", when Ken runs him over with the steamroller.

Cleese and Crichton both had scenes they specifically wanted included, whatever form the final film took: a stutterer trying to spit out vital information , and a character being run over by a steamroller . Crichton is also a veteran of the Ealing bank heist comedies. Ax-Crazy : Otto, but it's more Played for Laughs . Bad Liar : Zigzagged with Otto, who sometimes lies convincingly but also comes up with ridiculous excuses. Berserk Button : Don't call Otto stupid, or hurt Wanda (the fish). Otto isn't pleased with the prospect of Wanda touching Archie's dick. He isn't pleased with Wanda carousing with George, either. Reminding Otto that America essentially lost in Vietnam. Bilingual Bonus : Knowing some Italian and/or Russian makes some scenes all the more hilarious, especially simce Otto is just prattling off random Italian food items. If you don't know Latin, the choir-boys' singing at the dog's funeral just seems like any old sad hymn. If you speak Latin, however ...

The Russian Archie uses to arouse Wanda is a poem about the glory of the worker that Soviet Children were expected to recite the way American Children are expected to recite the pledge of allegance. The film's ending title card, " FIN ," also counts, as it is the French equivalent of " The End ." Otto does it several times. Kevin Kline is a master of doing convincing foreign accents. Archie and Otto exchange dueling examples British Stuffiness : This film delightfully exploits and deconstructs this stereotype to the hilt. Archie's wife Wendy plays it pretty straight along with the Judge and the Old Lady with the dogs. Lampshaded and Invoked by Archie: Wanda, do you have any idea what it's like being English? Being so correct all the time, being so stifled by this dread of, of doing the wrong thing, of saying to someone "Are you married?" and hearing "My wife left me this morning," or saying, uh, "Do you have children?" and being told they all burned to death on Wednesday. You see, Wanda, we'll all terrified of embarrassment. That's why we're so... dead.

Butt Monkey / The Chew Toy : Archie undergoes one humiliation after another. But in the end he becomes a winner . Ken has it worse. Stephen Fry has a 30 second part towards the climax as a man at the airport Otto mugs for his ticket. Geoffrey Palmer also appears, as the Judge in George's trial. The film's producer, Michael Shamberg, is the policeman conducting the line-up where the old lady with the Yorkies identifies George. Chronic Backstabbing Disorder : Wanda intends to betray everyone to get the jewels - but actually falls for Archie. Contrived Clumsiness : Otto, angry with Wanda, picks up a framed photo of her and smashes it with his fist. He then hands it to Ken, and flatly says "Oh, sorry". Contrast Montage : Otto and Wanda engaging in over-the-top sex, meanwhile the Leachs are getting ready to sleep, in separate beds, in the most boring and unsexy way imaginable. Otto forcing Ken to watch him eat his beloved fish. Ken getting back at him by running him over with a steamroller. Apparently, Ken thinks killing little old ladies is better than buggering people.

Also, Ken feels absolutely heartbroken about killing those poor Yorkies, but can't keep from laughing when he realizes the little old lady is dead. Otto feigns disgust at killing in cold blood. Everything Sounds Sexier in French : In this case Gratuitous Italian . Or Gratuitous Russian . In Archie's case, he's fluent in Russian. Otto just spits out random Italian words. Fake Shemp : Tellingly, only Wanda's legs are shown during the sex scene with Otto. According to the DVD commentary, this is because Jamie Lee Curtis held a pillow over her face the whole time, as otherwise she couldn't stop laughing. A Noun Referred To As X : A Fish Called Wanda Oh Crap! : Otto is greatly amused to see that Ken is bearing down on him in a steamroller ... until he discovers that he's gotten stuck in the cement right in the steamroller's path. Ominous Latin Chanting : "Miserere Dominus, canis mortuus est" during the funerals, latin for "Have mercy, O Lord, the dog is dead".

One Mario Limit : This trope (or the reaction to its aversion) is one of the many examples of Otto's stupidity. When he hears that Archie's daughter is named Portia (a homophone of "Porsche"), he asks why on earth he would name her after a car. Ordered Apology : Otto holds Archie out a window, by his ankles, while Archie gives a formal apology in the manner expected of John Cleese playing a lawyer. At a different point Wanda orders Otto to apologize as well. Rule of Three : Otto is repeatedly involved in car crashes or near crashes, the first two times running the same dark red car off the road, and the third time having a minor collision with a light blue car - at the same time alerting Archie that Otto is escaping with his car. In each occasion he calls the other driver an asshole, followed - or preceded in the actual crash - with a metallic crunching noise. (Being an American, he keeps forgetting to drive on the left.) Then there's those three poor doggies.

Running Gag : Courtesy of Otto: "ASS-HOLE!" "What was the middle part?" Otto sniffing his own armpit doubles as Character Tic Shout-Out / Genius Bonus : John Cleese's character is called Archie Leach, which was Cary Grant 's real name. An scene with Otto and Wanda borrows one iconic moment from a fight between Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story . George: Tell those pigs to fuck off. Archie: (to police officers, calmly) Fuck off, pigs. ( beat ) I said fuck off! Speech Impediment : Ken's, much mocked by Otto. "Look, it's K-k-k-Ken, c-c-c-c-coming to k-k-k-k-kill me! How are you gonna c-c-c-c-catch me, K-k-k-k-ken?? " (Realizes he can't get out of the way of the steamroller) Michael Palin researched stuttering extensively so as to not needlessly offend stutterers in the name of comedy. Palin's father had a stammer, and Palin himself helped set up the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in London. He is Vice President of the charity Action for Stammering Children.

Stealth Pun : Most movies have "The End". This one has "Fin". "Fucking Limey cement!" Straw Nihilist : Otto. Ironically, he seems to be more knowledgable about the subject than most other examples, and it seems to be the one thing he isn't a Small Name, Big Ego about. Wanda was going to give one to Otto, but the diamonds weren't where they were supposed to be. "Ciao, stupidissimo!" Otto does the same thing later to Stephen Fry . Testosterone Poisoning : Otto, and he revels in it, such as snorting his own armpits. Torture for Fun and Information : Otto stuffs food up Ken's nose while holding him prisoner. He then speaks at length about philosophy, and then starts to eat Ken's pet fish alive so he'll tell him what he wants. Hilarious. Trivial Title : It's named after Ken's pet fish, which has very little do do with the plot. Certainly less than the human Wanda. The Unfair Sex : Subverted with Archie and his wife. Unpronounceable Alias : Otto makes up the name "Mr. Manfrenjensen...den".

It's made more hilarious when the person it's being given to goes on to pronounce it perfectly. Unspoken Plan Guarantee : During the character introductions, the film cuts back to George's flat just as he's finished explaining his plan, so we only get to hear about "the middle bit... about the police". The rest of the plan goes off almost without a hitch. Upper-Class Twit : Otto sees Archie as this, Archie even seems to see himself as this a little bit. Video Credits : Over the opening credits, to introduce the main players. Villain Protagonist : Three quarters of the main characters (Wanda, Otto and Ken) are thieves looking to keep their loot (and at least in the case of the first two planning to betray their leader over it.) What Happened to the Mouse? : Archie & Wanda (and Ken) get their happily ever afters, while Otto goes to work for the South African government... but they just left George sitting in jail.

They didn't explicitly reveal what happened to him, but Archie told George that Wanda's statements in court meant that he was now certain to be jailed for a long time, and that only implicating Wanda, Ken and Otto in the robbery could reduce the sentence. Since Archie never brought them to account, we can assume that George got the original, very long sentence. On the other hand, since it was quite apparent that his barrister was having a "relationship" with the key witness, it's possible that a mistrial could've been declared. And with basically no evidence left against George (Wanda having left for South America, and the key witness bumped off ) he certainly would have gotten off. "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue : Parodied: Archie & Wanda move to Rio, have 17 kids, and fund a leper colony; Ken becomes Master of Ceremonies at London Sea World; Otto emigrates to South Africa ( in the late 80s ) and becomes Minister of Justice. William Telling : In the bank heist in the beginning, as the four thieves are about to get away with their bank heist, Otto pulls an apple out of his sack and places it on a bystander's head.

He readies his crossbow, scaring the bystander, but he's stopped by Wanda (not the fish) before he can pull the trigger. Xanatos Speed Chess : When Archie realizes what's going on and his wife threatens divorce, he quickly makes plans for himself - and Wanda. :: Indexes :: Oscar Movies: A Fish Called Wanda–Kevin Kline Oscar | Emanuel Levy Oscar Movies: A Fish Called Wanda–Kevin Kline Oscar April 17, 2012 by EmanuelLevy Leave a Comment MGM (Michael Shamberg-Prominent Features) In this funny and enjoyable farce, based on an original screenplay by John Cleese and Charles Crichton, Kevin Kline, who won the supporting Oscar, steals every scene he is in due to comic timing and impressively physical performance. Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis (for a change cast in a good role), and Michael Palin pull off a tricky robbery, but they still need the assistance of a rigid and stuffy barrister (John Cleese) to make their successful gateaway. The film was a good reminder of the admired Monty Python TV series, in which Cleese ad Palin (among others) began their careers.

Question: Which actor won an 'Oscar' for the film 'A Fish Called Wanda'?
Answer: KEVIN KLINE